Rentech refines gas-to-liquid synfuel, Coal-to-liquid fuel company Rentech Inc. has produced liquid synthetic fuel at its demonstration plant in Commerce City using natural gas as the feedstock.
The company said in January it had about 250 employees, including 100 in Denver. The company built a $45 million demonstration plant in Commerce City to test its proprietary twist on an decades-old Fischer-Tropsch technology to use fossil fuels like coal and natural gas to make liquid diesel and jet fuel. The technology's chemistry dates to German scientists in the 1920s who figured out how to use coal for fuel.
Rentech said Thursday the demonstration plant is designed to produce about 420 gallons of jet and diesel fuel per day. Rentech said the production, using natural gas, "demonstrates the successful design, construction and operation of a fully-integrated synthetic fuels facility utilizing the Rentech Process."
The plant is also designed to use coal as a feedstock for the synthetic fuel. Once tested and approved by potential customers, Rentech said it expects to enter into supply contracts.
Jim May, president and CEO of Air Transport Association of America (ATA), said in a statement, “We congratulate Rentech in their achievement and applaud this step toward deployment of their alternative jet fuel technology using diverse and abundant sources.
With our economy and U.S. airlines both suffering greatly from high oil prices and reliance upon imports, the Air Transport Association and its member airlines are leading the way in promoting the development of cleaner, lower cost jet fuels to meet the industry’s operational needs and environmental goals."
But turning natural gas or coal into liquid fuel releases a lot of carbon dioxide, an emission linked to global warming and one that many believe will be regulated in the future. Responding to that concern, Rentech announced in 2007 it would build its first commercial plant in Natchez, Miss., and signed a contract to capture and sell the CO2 emissions to Denbury Resources Inc. (NYSE: DNR), based in Plano, Texas.
Denbury plans to inject the CO2 underground to force additional oil out of an old oil field.